Duncan led his Spurs to 4 championships and is regarded as one of the most fundamentally sound big men of all-time. Kobe has 5 rings but he was the best player on just 2 of those teams.
Duncan has 2 MVP awards. Kobe has 1.
Duncan has 3 Finals MVP awards (and should have 4 but they gave it to Tony Parker for some reason). Kobe has 2.
They have the same amount of All-Star appearances and All-League 1st Team selections.
So I have to ask, why are you so surprised that Duncan is ahead of Kobe? I can only assume you've forgotten how good Duncan was at his peak.
I refer you to this epic performance in the last game of the 2003 NBA Finals: http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxs...50SAS.html
Duncan had 21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists and 8 blocks.
His opponent, Kenyon Martin (who was an All-Star at the time and a great defender), finished with 6 points on 3-for-23 shooting.
Duncan has 2 MVP awards. Kobe has 1.
Duncan has 3 Finals MVP awards (and should have 4 but they gave it to Tony Parker for some reason). Kobe has 2.
They have the same amount of All-Star appearances and All-League 1st Team selections.
So I have to ask, why are you so surprised that Duncan is ahead of Kobe? I can only assume you've forgotten how good Duncan was at his peak.
I refer you to this epic performance in the last game of the 2003 NBA Finals: http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxs...50SAS.html
Duncan had 21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists and 8 blocks.
His opponent, Kenyon Martin (who was an All-Star at the time and a great defender), finished with 6 points on 3-for-23 shooting.